Shopping carts employing a basket mounted on a wheeled base are utilized extensively in supermarkets, department stores and the like. These carts are conventionally constructed of a plurality of metal wires and tubular members which are individually fabricated and then individually assembled to form the cart. To facilitate the handling and storing of large numbers of such carts, the carts are conventionally provided with base and basket structures which diverge rearwardly so that the carts can be nested together. To permit this nesting, the base structure is conventionally provided with a rearwardly opening U-shaped bottom rail, the legs of which extend longitudinally along the opposite sides of the base structure and form the side rails thereof. These side rails are generally straight throughout the length of the cart and normally diverge outwardly at an angle of 5.degree. to 8.degree. as the rails extend longitudinally rearwardly of the cart. These opposed diverging side rails thus define an included angle therebetween which is normally in the range of about 10.degree. to 16.degree., whereby the base structures of like carts can thus be nested one within another.
While conventional carts of the above-described type have been extensively utilized, nevertheless these carts have possessed structural and operational features which, while tolerated, have been less than desired. For example, the above-described base structure has necessarily limited the nestability of such carts, and particularly the initial insertion of one cart into another. While the diverging U-shaped base rail does permit limited misalignment between the carts as they are being initially moved into a nested condition, nevertheless the amount of such misalignment is extremely small so that proper nesting of the carts can normally be satisfactorily and efficiently achieved only by ensuring that the carts are substantially aligned prior to relatively moving the carts into the nested relationship. This thus makes nesting of a plurality of carts a difficult manipulation, particularly when a large plurality of carts are being simultaneously nested or where the available floor space is limited. Also, cart manufacturers have generally recognized the necessity of maintaining the base rail with an included angle of approximately 10.degree. to 16.degree. to ensure that the carts are properly aligned when they are fully nested one within the other. For this reason, a rather precise alignment has been tolerated as being a necessity for nesting carts of this type.
A further disadvantage of the above-described nestable cart, which disadvantage stems directly from the design of the base structure, is the overall stability of the cart. Because of the restrictions placed on the size and geometry of the rearwardly opening U-shaped rail, which restrictions are due to the desired nestability of the cart, the front wheel assemblies are positioned close together to permit their free passage between the more widely spaced rear wheels when two such carts are nested together. This thus results in the spacing between both the front and rear wheel assemblies being less than the overall width of the basket, whereupon the cart may have a tendency to tip sidewardly when a heavy load is placed adjacent the sides of the basket, particularly adjacent the front corners thereof, such as due to a child standing adjacent or leaning over the edge of the basket.
Another operational disadvantage experienced with conventional carts, and particularly carts of the type employing a basket adapted to be positioned with the bottom thereof either aligned with or over the top of the checkout counter, is the accidental dislodgment of articles from the shelves of the supermarket or department store. The sidewalls of the basket are conventionally spaced apart such that they are spaced, at least adjacent the rearward ends thereof, slightly outwardly from the associated base structure. Because of this, the sidewalls of the basket thus project outwardly far enough to overhang the edges of the shelves and thereby dislodge articles from the shelves, often resulting in damage or breakage of such articles. This is obviously undesirable since not only does it result in financial loss to the merchant, but it also creates an embarrassment for the customer.
Conventional shopping carts also normally employ a wire tray mounted on the base of the cart. This tray generally extends between the side rails of the cart and is hinged adjacent its front end to facilitate upward swinging of the rear end of the tray when plural carts are nested together. The tray is conventionally mounted on the base by a pair of hog rings secured under the nuts of the front casters, which hog rings have loops which surround the front rod of the tray to secure the tray in position while functioning as hinges to facilitate pivoting of the tray during nesting. While this structure does operate in a satisfactory manner, nevertheless it greatly complicates the assembly of the base in that the tray and front casters must be substantially simultaneously assembled on the base. This makes the assembly of the base a complex and time-consuming operation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved nestable shopping cart, and particularly a cart having an improved base structure, so that the resulting cart effectively overcomes the above-mentioned operational and structural shortcomings.
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved nestable shopping cart, as aforesaid, wherein the cart possesses an improved base structure which substantially improves both the nestability and stability of the cart. The improved base structure of the present invention possesses a widened inlet chute at the rearward end of the U-shaped base rail so that like carts can be easily and efficiently nested together even though substantial misalignment exists between the carts at the initiation of the nesting operation. The widened chute at the rearward end of the base rail is provided, in a preferred embodiment, by bending the rearward ends of the side rails angularly outwardly so as to increase the angle of divergence therebetween, which angle of divergence is preferably in the neighborhood of at least 30.degree., and may be as large as 45.degree.. Since the rear wheel assemblies are mounted at the rearward free ends of the side rails, this results in the spacing between the rear wheel assemblies being substantially enlarged, whereupon the spacing between the front wheel assemblies can also be suitably enlarged, thereby providing increased stability against tipping of the cart.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved nestable shopping cart, as aforesaid, wherein the base structure includes posts which extend upwardly from the rearward ends of the side rails and are joined to the basket structure, which posts are positioned outwardly a small distance from the sidewalls of the basket so that the posts function as bumpers which can rub along the free edge of the shelving to prevent the basket from striking and disloding articles from the shelves.
According to the present invention, the base rail is preferably formed from a single elongated tubular element, as by being bent into the desired U-shaped configuration, as is conventional in the known carts. However, a portion of each side rail adjacent the rear end thereof is provided with an additional outward bend so that each rail has a rearward portion which diverges outwardly at a larger angle, whereby these rearward portions form a flared chutelike opening at the rear end of the base rail. Two like carts can thus be substantially nested one within the other even though a substantially greater amount of angular misalignment exists between the two carts upon initiation of the nesting operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a nestable shopping cart, as aforesaid, wherein the bottom tray is mounted on the base in a manner so as to be free of rigid connection with the front casters, thereby simplifying not only the assembly of the base structure but also reducing the number of parts.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a nestable shopping cart, as aforesaid, which is compatible and nestable with similar known shopping carts which do not have a flared chutelike opening at the rearward end of the base.
Other objects and purposes of this invention will be apparent to persons familiar with structures of this type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.